


the start of a dream come true

by helsinkibaby



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Canon Het Relationship, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Future Fic, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 08:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5368637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catherine and Steve meet again, not the way she planned it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the start of a dream come true

**Author's Note:**

> Theme: free for all  
> Prompt: any. any het pairing. "We'll start with drinks, and see where it goes from there."

"Hey, Cath."

She's been imagining this moment for so long, pictured herself turning quickly at the sound of his voice, running into his arms and burying her face in his neck. 

She's never imagined it like this, in a hospital room half a world away from Honolulu, her face a mangled mess, her ribs not much better, drips and wires and machines doing who knows what all around her. 

She's imagined him smiling, sweeping her off her feet, pressing his lips to hers, not standing attention-straight with his back to the door. She's not sure if he's stopping anyone from coming in or inches away from leaving. From the storm she sees raging in his face, in his eyes, neither is he. 

"Hey, Sailor."

 It's their old greeting, made strange by time and chapped lips, by the bruises on her jaw and her throat. Her voice doesn't sound like her own and Steve visibly winces. For a man with a stone face like his, that's huge and something in Catherine's heart breaks at the sight. She swallows hard, tries to pretend that's what's causing the hurt. "So," she manages. "You know."

He nods, the briefest movement of his head up and down, crosses his arms over his chest, squares his shoulders for good measure. "Yeah, Cath, I know." He holds her gaze for a long moment, then shakes his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The answer is easy to give, harder to say. "Orders."

Steve's lips press into a thin line. "So everything you told me last year... the village, the school, that was all a lie?"

Knowing his trust issues, nodding is the hardest thing she's ever had to do. But there's no point lying, not now. If he's here, he knows everything; he just wants to hear it from her, hear how great her betrayal was. "When I came back for Kono's wedding, it was supposed to be over, I was supposed to be done... but then..." She remembers the phone call, the knowledge of what she had to do, the sinking sensation in her heart, in her stomach and her throat closes up. He says nothing, waits for her to speak, and when she can, what comes out is, "I wanted to stay."

His lips are pressed so tightly together all she can see is white and she's sure there are tears in his eyes. "I was going to propose," he tells her and a sob rips itself from her damaged throat. 

"I would have said yes," she tells him and it's the honest truth, her dearest wish, the one that even now she'd give anything to have come true.  He nods again and she closes her eyes, turns her face away from him so that he can't see the tears fall. 

So sure that she's going to hear the soft click of the door shutting behind him, she doesn't realise he's at her bedside until the bed sinks under his weight. His hand is warm in hers, strong and secure, a life preserver to a drowning woman and she turns her hand so that she can grip his tightly, like she never wants to let him go. 

"What happens now?" she hears herself whisper and if his eyes are still conflicted, his lips turn up in the tiniest hint of a smile. 

"I spoke to your doctors," he tells her. "You'll be out in a couple of days. Let's get you Stateside, get you home."

"And then?" She's pushing her luck, she knows, but she nearly died regretting what she'd done; if he's giving her a second chance, she's grabbing it with both hands. 

"Then?" This time, the smile is more than a hint. "We'll start with drinks... and see where it goes from there." 

More tears fall down Catherine's cheeks, and it hurts to smile but she does it anyway. "OK."


End file.
